A lot of businesses make the mistake of starting their marketing strategy before having a clear brand in place. For materials, they use whatever font they fancy, switch up their designs inconsistently, or worse, they use a blurry unprofessional logo.
The way to think of branding is an impression: We all have one chance to make a good first impression which is why the majority of us will show up to job interviews dressed our smartest and conduct ourselves in the highest of manners – because we want to look good. Your business’ brand works exactly the same way; just as you wouldn’t turn up to an interview in a tracksuit and expect to get the job, you can’t have a weak or non-existent brand and expect to bring in customers.
So, where do businesses go wrong?
The most common branding mistakes
Being inconsistent across marketing materials
Your brand should have a strong visual identity that belongs to you, and only you, so that when potential customers do encounter it, they’re able to associate with you. Whether you’re creating materials for your social media, your website, printed materials, or general advertisements, your content should all appear in uniform with one another. Yet, there are many businesses out there who switch between different fonts, colour schemes, and design styles. This creates a confusing aesthetic and far from looking professional, you look amateur.
If you think about some of the major brands out there such as Apple or even Coca-Cola, you instantly recognise their brand through their colours, fonts, and messaging because they’re consistent everywhere. In fact, you don’t even need their logo on their materials because we’d still be able to recognise them.
No clear positioning or brand identity
Branding is more than just aesthetics; it’s about who you are and what you stand for. The businesses who fail to define their unique value, their voice, and their audience, are the ones that blend into the crowd because they’re trying too hard to appeal to everyone instead of creating a distinct identity.
Building a strong brand begins when you know the answers to these questions:
- What does your business stand for?
- Who is your target audience?
- What sets you apart from your competitors?
- What emotions do you want people to associate with your brand?
- Poor logo and design choices
Some businesses will get a logo to just ‘start off’ without a long-term vision for the brand in mind. This can lead to logo choices that outdate very fast, don’t really resonate with what they’re selling, or they use the wrong file types and end up with one that’s blurry or pixelated. Your logo is one of the first investments you should make because it’s going to be the first impression people have of your brand, so make sure it’s not a bad one.
Similarly, randomly selecting fonts, images, or colours for the sake of it never work either. A strong brand follows principles that not only ensures everything looks polished and cohesive, but that there’s a solid reason for why the selected design has been chosen.
How to build a strong brand that lasts
Step 1: Define your brand strategy
Before designing anything, get clear on your brand’s purpose, values, and audience. Your brand should have:
- A mission statement which highlights your business’ bigger purpose.
- Core values that show what your brand stands for.
- A defined audience so you know who you’re trying to reach.
- A unique value proposition that sets you apart from competitors.
If you create a brand without strategy, you’re simply just decorating. A good brand is built from the inside out, starting with a strong foundation.
Step 2: Create a consistent visual identity
Now that you’ve answered the above questions, you can now move on to building the identity which includes:
- A professional logo (in high resolution with multiple variations i.e. black on white/white on black)
- A colour palette that reflects your brand’s personality.
- A set of fonts that you can use across all designs.
- A consistent design style (modern, bold, minimal, elegant, etc).
If you stick to these elements across all marketing materials, your social media posts, newsletters, website pages, and business card will all feel like they’re coming from the same brand.
Step 3: Develop a brand voice and messaging style
Branding isn’t just about how you look; it’s also about the way you communicate. For example, your tone of voice should match your brand personality. Are you friendly and conversational? Are you bold and motivational? Are you to the point and informative? Professional and authoritative? Playful and fun?
Once you’ve decided how you want to come across to others, your messaging should now be consistent in your:
- Website copy
- Social media captions
- Emails and newsletters
- Customer interactions
People should be able to recognise your brand’s personality, whether they’re reading a blog post, a tweet, or an Instagram caption.
Step 4: Build trust and recognition through consistency
Lastly, it’s about being consistent – that’s the secret to strong branding. It’s going to take time for customers to associate your brand with a particular look, feel, and message. If you constantly switch things up, you lose recognition.
According to marketing studies, people need to see your brand at least seven times before they consider making a purchase. This means you need to keep your marketing materials with the same message, design, and experience.
Here’s what consistency looks like in action:
- Using the same colours and fonts across all content.
- Keeping your brand voice the same across all platforms.
- Ensuring all visuals align with your brand identity.
- Reinforcing your message repeatedly.
The more familiar people become with your brand, the more they’ll trust it.
Are you ready to build a strong brand?
We’ve established that branding isn’t just about having a nice logo or Instagram feed, it’s about how people are going to perceive, trust, and remember your business in the long run.
If you’re unsure whether your current branding is helping or hurting your business, we can help. At The Social Pig, we specialise in building brand identities that make businesses stand out and get results.
Need a refresh? Let’s talk!
